CH 8.24

The Emperor motioned for the ancient scholar’s attendants to enter after I claimed the tiara.

The gloved men entered the plane one by one, removing the treasures and laying them on a long table.

The scholars then swarmed about, scrutinizing this and that. 

They inspected and evaluated them, ranking them from best to worst.

“How did you come to invest in Cyphelion’s plane?”

“Where did you get such high-level information?”

“Right, it was like a legend’s story.”

A mob rushed around me as the emperor and princess went to see the treasure.

The media are too preoccupied with the emperor to get involved, but the nobles were not.

They approached me, their features tinged with envy and jealousy, whispering under their breath.

They’ll label me selfish if I don’t say something here.

However, no matter what they say, if I answer, I will only incur losses.

since I can’t simply tell them to read the original.

“They say that good things come to those who do good, and I guess that’s true.”

So I smiled and pretended to be innocent while continuing to perform.

“Ahaha, yeah, that’s right.”

Everyone’s faces hardened for a moment, then they quickly smiled and agreed with what I said.

It was only natural for them to do so because they still had to maintain their public image.

I diverted my gaze away from them and onto the emperor.

“First, what you all see is only half of the picture, and we’ve only figured out a quarter of it, Your Majesty.”

The chancellor flung his arms up in the air in delight at the scholars’ report.

The Emperor addressed him earnestly.

“Keep your cool, chancellor. How much do you think it’s worth?”

“P-Please don’t be surprised; hurry up and bring a Cheongsimhwan* to His Majesty!”

*(refers to a sort of herbal medicine or tonic in traditional Korean medicine that is thought to offer numerous health benefits such as boosting blood circulation and lowering weariness.)

Was there also something called Cheongsimhwan here?

As I watched the ecstatic chancellor leave, I wondered how much a quarter of the riches in that plane was worth.

“F-F-Fi-Fiv–!”

“Five?”

“Fi-Fi-Five!”

“Five…?”

The chancellor could only repeat the number five.

When I saw his face turn blue, then red, then white, I grew suspicious…

Is it all fake? Is he trying to say that it is only worth 500 gautes?

“Five— Five hundred billion Gautes!”

“… … !”

“It’s 500 billion; add them all up and you’ll have more than two trillion gautes!”

Whoa!

Several ladies fainted, their hands on their foreheads.

The men trembled, their jaws agape.

“This is crazy.”

Beginning with someone saying that, a tremendous scream soon shook the front yard.

“Wahhhhhhhhh.”

“Two trillion!”

“Ohhhhhhhhh!”

Envy pierces the sky and takes flight into space.

I stood there, perplexed.

Didn’t I just hear that incorrectly?

I have only invested five billion gautes.

Half of the reward Lacius agreed to give me.

But how much did they say it increased?

“Hahahaha, what a heavenly gift! Come here, Lady Oberon. You truly bring joy to this empire. What a delight!!”

The Emperor’s eyes widened in response to the chancellor’s shout.

He jumped up from his seat, shaking his beard.

I knelt swiftly and spewed out words of humility.

“I saw it in my dream, but I had no idea it would be true. All of this is due to Your Majesty’s generosity.”

“Hahaha, what have I done? Haha! It truly made me wonder where a person as valuable as you came from. Hahahaha!”

With his wrinkled palm, the emperor squeezed my hand. Seeing him truly pleased made me feel pleasant as well.

No, isn’t this more than pleasant?

‘Let’s say the total is two trillion, half of it must go to the imperial family, so that leaves one trillion. And Sir Aragon owns 20%, thus the value I can keep is…

800 billion gaute. I only invested five billion gaute, but it came back as huge as this. This was a rate of return that is impossible without it being a scam.

“Your Majesty, may I dance to celebrate this success?”

“Sure, go ahead!”

“There will be no shortage of money with this! I can start stamping on various national projects that I’ve been wanting to do but had to put off due to budget constraints!”

The prime minister seemed very pleased, and I now understand why.

The funding requests kept rolling in, but the budget was limited, making it tough.

Indeed, Cyphelion, a legendary figure, saves several lives in the present. More treasures followed. I couldn’t keep the corners of my lips from rising as I watched the scene.

It’s a jackpot. With this, I have undoubtedly joined the ranks of the rich people.

and the following day.

Aside from the report about Cyphelion’s plane, the newspaper headlined another story.

It was about a ship that went to search for the dragon’s egg and disappeared.

* * *

Pak! 

The ring-clad hand, evidently used to holding a sword, struck her delicate skin. However, it was many times more insulting than painful.

The blonde woman closed her eyes with her face turned from the blow.

“Can you still say that you are from the Crisiona family after this?”

The middle-aged man didn’t even bat an eye while striking his own daughter.

Instead, he spoke in a rebuking tone.

“You were not only robbed of the princess’s affection by an unknown woman, but you were also robbed of your position as the archduke’s betrothed. What’s next?”

“… … .”

“I told you to isolate her, not give her a stage like this!”

He trampled on the newspaper on the floor.

The word “Titania Oberon” was written in large characters over the front page.

The man, Duke Criciona, stepped on that part with particular force.

“Whether she was a slave or not, she stood in a slave auction once, don’t you know what that means? It means her roots are unknown, but you can’t handle even that?”

The duke’s reproach went on endlessly.

Peridot remained there like a statue, emotionlessly listening to the words flowing out like a torrent.

The Duke clicked his tongue and gave his daughter a cold gaze.

“I tried to give you everything but how far do I have to go as your father? If everything has to be spoon-fed to you, can you really call yourself a Crisiona?”

“I’m sorry… …sir.”

“You’ve lost both the princess’  favor and the position of the Archduchess. That bitch is already thriving, but that stupid Latrus can’t even read the tide. And what now? The treasure of Liang 999?!”